Vehicle panels all asunder. Most seriously hurt driver not wearing seat belt. Image: Vernon County sheriff
One driver, from Viola, injured seriously
WEST LIMA, Wis – A Viola truck driver was injured in the mangled wreckage of a truck two pickups and two skid-laodeers near West Lima southeast of LaFarge. Justin J. Valentine, 21, was taken 22 miles to the Viroqua hospital, then transferred another 30 miles to a more fully equipped LaCrosse hospital. The sequence of what happened in the accident was complicated. Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson reconstructed it this way:
Valentine was driving a 2007 Freightliner M2 box truck south on County Road A. He crossed the center line and struck a northbound 2016 Ram 4500 driven by Chad E. Miller, 51, of La Farge. The Miller vehicle was pulling a trailer loaded with a skid steer-loader. The initial collision caused minor damage, but Valentine’s truck and trailer continued across the road and struck, almost head-on, a northbound 2023 Dodge Ram 5500 driven by Steven A. Bomkamp, 65, of Highland, Wisconsin. The Bomkamp vehicle also was pulling a trailer with a skid steer-loader.
Bomkamp was transported to the Hillsboro hospital and released. Neither Miller nor his passenger reported any injuries. The accident was about 4:40 p.m. The County Foad A clean-up took 4-1/2 hours.